BENGALURU: Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday requested the Centre to grant Rs 4,300 crore for implementation of the Karnataka Optical Fibre Network (KOFN), which aims to provide high-speed internet connectivity in all government offices, including panchayat ones.
Bommai made the request during a meeting with Union IT, electronics and communication minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Delhi on Tuesday.
In a memorandum, Bommai said that because of BharatNet’s limited reach and telecom companies’ poor presence at the panchayat level, the state government had been unable to fulfil the connectivity requirements of 25,000 government offices and institutions.
“To overcome this problem, the state has formulated the KOFN project at the cost of Rs 4,300 crore, which includes network maintenance for 15 years,” he said, urging the Centre to fund the project.
The chief minister asked Vaishnaw, who is also the railway minister, to consider Karnataka’s proposal to extend the Bengaluru suburban rail project’s corridors to Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru Bangarapet, Ramanagara, Hosur and Doddaballapur. He also sought a speedier handover of land to Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Company (KRIDE) for the station and track construction under phase 1 of the project.
Bommai requested Vaishnaw’s intervention to get the concession agreement signed between the railways, state government and KRIDE. The state has already sent the draft agreement, specifying the rights and obligations of each entity, to the railways.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bommai met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought more funds for Karnataka under the Centre’s ‘One District One Product’ scheme. “I requested the FM to ensure NABARD and SIDBI implement the scheme and microfinance in a big way in our state,” he said. Sitharaman assured him that she would issue necessary directions.
Bommai plans to meet BJP national president JP Nadda on Wednesday and may seek the nod to fill four vacancies in his cabinet. He is reportedly under some pressure from cabinet hopefuls.
“I have not got an appointment with the party president yet. I will try to meet him before leaving for Bengaluru,” he said. Bommai was accompanied by a dozen ministers, who attended the wedding reception of Union minister Pralhad Joshi’s daughter in Delhi.
